Notable New Releases

Despicable Me
Loved this movie. It's really funny but also sweet and touching. Pixar watch your back.
Extras include:

• Commentary with directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin, featuring the Minions
• GRU-CONTROL: Through a picture-in-picture window, see the making of the film with behind-the-scenes footage and cast/filmmaker interviews (BD-exclusive)
• The World of Despicable Me
• Despicable Beats: director Chris Renaud talks about the work of renowned music producer Pharrell Williams
• Gru's Rocket Builder Game
• A Global Effort: learn all about the global effort behind Despicable Me, A director from France and another from the USA, plus an American and English cast created a movie in France, with artists from all over the world for a truly international movie
• Three all new shorts starring the Minions: "Home Makeover" "Orientation Day" "Banana"
• The Voices of Despicable Me
• Super Silly Fun Land Game
• Miss Hattie's Top Secret Cookie Recipes

 

The Other Guys
Adam McKay's send up of the buddy cop genre looks hilarious.
Extras include:

• Commentary - Dubbed the "Mom"-Mentary, this unique commentary features the mothers of Adam McKay, Christopher Henchy, and Will Ferrell
• Line-O-Rama
• Flash Forwards
• Alternate Action
• Wasn't That???
• Crash and Burn!
• Why Are There Brits in This Movie?
• Rob Riggle Likes to Party
• We Shouldn't Kiss Chicken
• Mark Wahlberg's Eating Contest Entourage
• Bed Bath and Way Beyond
• Lendl Global Commercial
• Extreme Close-Up
• Music Video "Pimps Don't Cry" performed by Cee-Lo Green featuring Eva Mendes
• Everyone Hates the DVD Guy
• Extended & Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel

 

Cyrus
Indie mumblecore directors The Duplass Brothers make their mainstream debut with Cyrus. Got amazing reviews. Can't wait to see this.

Extras include:

• Deleted Scenes

 

The Town
Heard great things about Affleck's second film as a director.
Extras include:

• Theatrical and Extended Cut Audio Commentaries
• "Ben's Boston" Focus Points: Segments include "Pulling Off the Perfect Heist," "The Town," "Nuns with Guns: Filming in the North End," "The Real People of The Town," "Ben Affleck: Director & Actor" and "The Cathedral of Boston"
• Extended Cut Scene Indicator - a small icon appears on screen to denote scenes that don't appear in the theatrical version of the film

 

The A-Team
I dig the TV show (it's on watch instantly if you want a retro refresh) and hope this delivers some mindless fun. I love it when a plan comes togther.
Extras include:

• The Devil is in the Details: Inside the Action with Joe Carnahan
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• The A-Team Theme Mash-Up Montage
• Plan of Attack
• Character Chronicles

 

Micmacs
Jeunet's latest film is as quirky and visually amazing as you would expect from the French auteur. It got a small theatrical run but hopefully now more people will discover it.
Extras include:

• Commentary
• The Making of Micmacs
• Q&A with Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Actress Julie Ferrier
• Animations: Absurd Deaths

 

Joan Rivers A Piece of Work
This candid doc is supposed to be great.
Extras include:

• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Sundance Q&A

 

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Go ahead and laugh but I'm a sucker for animation so I will be seeing Zack Snyder's animated owl epic. We're halfway there!
Extras include:

• Maximum Kid Mode - Soren hosts a kid-oriented, picture-in-picture Maximum Movie Mode with facts and lengthy featurettes about real owls
• True Guardians of the Earth - Modern Family's Rico Rodriguez and Digger the Owl take would-be Guardians around the world to learn about real owls and the people who work to protect their species
• Interactive Activities - "Armor Up," gives kids the opportunity to outfit Soren and Eglantine in various costumes, while the second, "Owl Treats," is a squirming snack-food matching game
• Rise of the Guardians - An alternate opening
• Artwork Galleries: Four concept art galleries - "Soren & Friends," "The Locations," "Villains of St. Aegolius" and "The Guardians"
• Music Video - Watch Owl City's Adam Young compose and perform "To the Sky"
• Fur of Flying - Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner in a new computer-animated Looney Tunes short

 

Mother and Child
Looking forward to the new film by Rodrigo García (Revolución, Nine Lives).
Extras include:

• Deleted Scenes
• Creating the Family Tree
• Universally Connected

 

24: Season Eight
Final season! Didn't see it as it aired so have been waiting for this! Viva Bauer!
Extras include:

• Extended Episodes
• Scenemakers on 21 Select Episodes
• The Ultimate CTU
• Deleted Scenes
• Virtually New York
• Chloe's Arrest
• 24 at Comic-Con (BD exclusive)

 

The IT Crowd: Season Four
My favorite BBC show!  A must see if you're a fan of sitcoms or British humor. The first three seasons are on watch instantly right now if you need to catch up.
Extras include:

• The IT Crowd on location
• Outtakes
• Hidden extras
• A guide to sitcom writing (audio commentary with Graham Lineham)
• Kalypso by sweet Billy Pilgrim featuring Katherine Parkinson

The pics of the titles are linked to Amazon, where if you decide to buy, your order goes to help the efforts of this column.